We frequently hear from customers who say they bought gloves from another vendor at a low price, but they can’t find that deal again. In fact, that vendor can’t seem to source the glove at all.
If you’re an industrial distributor, you’ve likely come across vendors who can’t be trusted to consistently deliver what you need at a price that works for you. Sure, it’s nice to save a few bucks here or there on a case of gloves, but can you count on that arrangement to hold up over time?
Anybody can source a container of gloves. Can they do it again and again? Will you be able to buy the same gloves in three months? In six months?
You can if you work with AIC. Our planning and sourcing teams consistently deliver the goods.
Success starts with the right plan
Knowing in advance how much product you are going to reasonably need to satisfy your customers is more important than ever, as industries work to repair supply chains broken during the pandemic.
When it comes to disposable gloves, however, the dynamics are a lot more complicated than for other products.
Most products can be made anywhere and sourced from multiple areas. Gloves, meanwhile, are unique to the one place in the world where they are primarily produced: Southeast Asia. Malaysia has dominated the glove trade for years.
A complex, nuanced marketplace
That fact adds complexity when the logistics of production and transportation are factored in. The glove market brings numerous fluctuations in the cost of labor, raw materials, and shipping.
AIC orders from manufacturers five to six months in advance of gloves actually showing up at one of our warehouses. Right now, in January, we are planning for June arrivals.
Most industrial distributors count gloves as only a small percentage of their overall portfolio. They don’t deal as much with the nuances of the market because they don’t have to. AIC has multiple teams to ensure we have the inventory our customers need, when they need it.
Reducing our partners’ risk
When you work with AIC, we smooth out the rough edges of the market and help take away risk.
There is as much art as science involved in this kind of planning, and because our teams are so good at it, we make ordering gloves easy for our distributor partners.
When customers visit our Online Portal or call their sales rep to make a purchase, the order is typically shipped by the next day.
Most distributors sell dozens or even hundreds of products. We sell gloves—and that singular focus means AIC is always a leader in the market.
